*** Because I know every Stanford fan has been wondering since Thursday night, here’s the latest on LaMichael James. Hard to imagine that he won’t be back by Nov. 12. (Also hard to imagine that the grass in Stanford Stadium will be trimmed to its usual length that day.)

*** Secondly, here’s more info on why I’m voting Stanford No. 9 this week in the AP poll, based on questions from Hotline readers.

The fact that I’m covering Stanford on a daily basis this fall while voting for Stanford each week — and, at the moment, voting Stanford lower than its overall AP poll placement — has the potential to raise plenty of questions. I’ll attempt to be as transparent as possible, this week and every week.

* I cited the Sagarin ratings as an example of Stanford’s poor SOS, but I don’t use those ratings as a guide — I don’t read any ranking or ratings system while formulating the ballot late Saturday night/early Sunday morning.

My only sources of information are the scores and the log I keep in a notebook that’s used to assess (and compare/contrast) team-by-team results.

But because I place heavy emphasis on quality wins and SOS, my ballot tends to (in a very, very general sense) reflect the Sagarin SOS rankings.

* The reason I have ranked Wisconsin ahead of Stanford the past two weeks, even though (as it turned out) the Badgers have a slightly lower Sagarin SOS, is simple:

They beat Nebraska, and Nebraska is much better than anybody Stanford has played to date.

Look for the conference to extend invitations to new members sooner rather than later, with the service academies at/near the top of the list. But it’s hard to imagine any schools signing up before the Big 12 and SEC have finished expanding.

*** 1. Let’s hope that LaMichael James (dislocated elbow) doesn’t miss more than a few weeks — he’s fun to watch, good for the game and a fabulous player.

(Potentially relevant information: Denver Broncos linebacker D.J. Williams suffered a dislocated elbow in the preseason and was projected to miss 3-4 weeks. Of course, everyone heals at different rates and the injuries may not be identical.)

While James is gone …

Yes, Kenjon Barner and De’Anthony Thomas will have to fill the void, and there’s no doubt that both are first-rate playmakers.

The question is whether they’ll churn out the tough yards between the tackles as consistently as James. For all his speed, he also was/is a power back — hence his brilliance.

But even more than the tailbacks, Oregon quarterback Darron Thomas will have to ramp up his efficiency in James’ absence — and Thomas has plenty of room for improvement in that respect.

A one-dimensional attack would have been problem enough against the Pac-12’s best teams with James in the lineup.

*** 3:30 p.m. update: No more posts today — I have some other work-related matters to pursue — and the Hotline will be dark tomorrow (Friday) because I’m on furlough. I’ll be back over the weekend or, at the latest, Monday morning with an item on whether expansion was worthwhile financially to the conference. (I know what Larry Scott said on the topic. But I’ve asked independent industry analysts to run the numbers.)

*** 10:55 a.m. update: Oregon fans: This is a list of rising seniors only, with the exception of Luck/Burfict/James. Read the criteria in the introduction … But thanks for proving my point about your righteous indignation.

*** Note: This was initially scheduled to be posted on the Hotline earlier this week, but I depayed because of the big news on the TV front. I’ll have more on the media deal in the next 24 hours.

Welcome to the Hotline’s annual NFL Draft look-ahead, a ranking of the top Pac-12 prospects for next April and exercise in semi-futility.

(Here are last year’s projections, if you’re interested — bad miss on Cal’s Cameron Jordan but otherwise not embarrassing. USC’s Tyron Smith wasn’t included because I didn’t expect him to enter the draft.)

The conference looks to be light on elite offensive and defensive linemen but should be loaded at safety in 2011, with four early-to-mid round prospects.

The league is also well stocked at quarterback, but one of the best (USC’s Matt Barkley) isn’t included — this is a ranking of the top rising seniors, with three exceptions:

Stanford QB Andrew Luck, who is on track to earn his degree next spring and will almost assuredly enter the draft as the top overall pick … and Arizona State LB Vontaze Burfict and Oregon TB LaMichael James, because I can’t see either player staying in school one nanosecond past the end of the season.